Save money with house brands, side gigs, budget apps as inflation hits China to Singapore and India

With food and energy prices soaring in Asia, what can households and consumers do to deal with inflation?

Whether it be higher grocery bills, utilities or petrol costs, most of us have been forking out extra in recent months.

Across the region - from China to Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea - inflation readings have spiked. Even the cost of household staples such as bread, eggs and meat have risen.

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Consumer price hikes are becoming increasingly common, thanks to global supply chain disruptions, border lockdowns and the tapering of government subsidies, as the world tries to live in a post-pandemic state. And should China continue to impose lockdowns in a bid to suppress Covid-19 outbreaks, the pressure on supply chain and logistics is likely to continue.

The final nail in the coffin was Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which pushed the prices of fuel and commodities even higher. The Asian Development Bank said earlier this month that elevated commodities prices are exacerbating inflation in developing Asia by 1 percentage point to 3.7 per cent this year.

While we cannot accurately predict what inflation statistics will look like in the coming years, here are some tips on what we can do to soften the blow.

If you've seen your grocery bill increase, an easy way to bring it down is to switch to supermarket house brands. These can usually be up to 30 per cent cheaper while still offering great value for money.

But of course, while a higher-income household that used to buy a brand name product could readily switch to a house brand, this method may not translate into as much savings for middle or lower-income households who are already using the store brand.

If you own a car, you have already seen higher prices at your local petrol station. Consider reducing your gas bills by changing to a more fuel-efficient car, or one that can even run on electricity.

At home, installing solar panels could help you reduce your electricity bills while powering your smaller devices for free. Water-efficient washing machines can also reduce your water usage, which is not only better for the environment but beneficial for your wallet, too.

If you're a parent, you'll soon find that not every item has to be brand new. I've snagged some great deals online from fellow parents whose children had outgrown their stuff, or did not fancy what they were given.

For instance, we bought an almost brand-new balance bicycle for my three-year-old son, because a young girl wanted a pink bike instead of a blue one. My son is also into the Mr Men series of books, and I managed to get the entire collection for just S$30 (US$22) - which saved me S$200, as well as the trip to the local bookstore to buy each book at S$4.90 every week!

Second-hand items have also been great for my wardrobe - and wallet. When I lost 16kg this year, I had to downsize my clothes, and found many selling for less than retail price on apps like Carousell because their previous owners had bought the wrong size or did not like how they fit.

When you open your mind to second-hand goods and learn how to shop smart, you can often pay less for more.

Every year, I spend one to two weeks tracking expenses for financial discipline and accountability. This not only helps me understand where and what we're currently spending our money on, but it often identifies problematic spending bursts before they become a habit.

For instance, tracking my expenses made me realise we were spending a lot on food deliveries last year during the pandemic, particularly our weekend McDonald's breakfasts. We decided to eat more at our local stores and also cook at home more often, which helped cushion the blow of rising food prices.

Another year, I realised I was paying more than S$200 annually for an email subscription I no longer used. When you target your regular expenses, you may find that you're spending more than you thought.

What's more, this can also help you cut or reduce expenses without affecting your quality of life. If you've yet to implement this practice, I encourage you to download an expense-tracking app, and start making this a yearly habit.

When it comes to purchasing stuff online, you should ideally use a cashback credit card to get rebates on your expenses. Combine that with sales season or online voucher codes and you will quite often save S$10 to S$30 easily.

And if you find that you're frequently shopping at a particular merchant, it could be worthwhile signing up for their email notifications, where they often push out the latest marketing promotions or membership deals. That way, you'll be a step ahead of your peers who are not aware that these deals and discounts exist.

Inflation erodes our real purchasing power, so one of the best ways to combat it would be to increase our income. If you've been doing well in your career, this might be a good time to ask for a higher salary.

Start the conversation by preparing materials that show the value you've added to the company or team in your role, as well as higher revenue, or sales figures, if you have that.

Of course, as much as we want our employers to pay us more, sometimes that does not always happen. In my previous role, I was only offered an inflation-adjusted pay rise of 3 per cent once in four years - by then, total inflation was much higher than the raise they gave me.

If you find that your employer is reluctant to give you a wage increase, then you could take matters in your own hands and start a side hustle. Be it freelancing, dropshipping or social commerce, there are plenty of opportunities online to earn extra cash for those who are willing to spend time building a new business.

Be careful though, some jobs or roles prohibit moonlighting, so check your employment contract before you unwittingly break any rules.

And finally, my eighth and final tip would be that you should learn how to invest to beat inflation in the long run. When we as consumers park our earned income in the bank, we are living off "old dollars" to pay for "current prices". In inflationary environments like the one we are currently experiencing, this often results in us being worse off and having less purchasing power.

Investing in assets that retain or even increase in value is one of the best ways to cushion ourselves against inflationary shocks. For instance, the homeowner not only gains as his property value increases alongside economic growth, but as the landlord, he can also charge a higher rent whereas the renter does not have much choice or bargaining power.

We cannot control how inflation rises or falls, but what we can do is take control of our financial decisions and make choices that will better help us manage inflation tomorrow.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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